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Leeds United produced an excellent performance to claim a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, and take a 3 point lead over promotion rivals Sheffield United.
FULL TIME: Jack Harrison's goal settles today's Yorkshire derby against Sheffield Wednesday! 4 TO GO! pic.twitter.com/GXSBlT15Z2
— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 13, 2019
Marcelo Bielsa’s men dominated the match and in truth should have won by a greater margin, not extending the lead being the only disappointment on an excellent day for Leeds where Jack Harrison’s goal proved enough to claim the win.
Leeds have generally struggled against teams playing 4-4-2, as they aren’t as strong in 3-3-1-3 as they are in a 4-1-4-1. I think that today was Leeds’ strongest performance in a 3-3-1-3 formation.
Cheers to the best fans in the universe @LUFC your support today pushed the lads to an important win #mot pic.twitter.com/2WponNq0Kp
— Andrea Radrizzani (@andrearadri) April 13, 2019
Time now to look at each player and how they performed. As always you can tell me how wrong I am @mightywhitespod or @ThruItAllLUFC on twitter.
STARTING LINE-UP
Kiko Casilla - Not much to do, but made an excellent save from a Barry Bannan shot from about 25 yards. Distribution was fine, but had a couple of rash moments rushing out. 7/10
SAVE: Brilliant, one-handed stop from Casilla to prevent Bannan's curling effort sneaking in the far post. Game is hotting up. Corner coming. 25th minute. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) April 13, 2019
Pontus Jansson - Moved forward 5 yards too far for the chance when Gary Hooper got through on goal but outside of that he had an excellent performance. Won everything in the air until Atdhe Nuhiu was introduced when it became a more even contest. Tackled well and brought the ball out of defence well. 8/10
#LUFC were awesome tonight. Jansson, Roberts, Hernandez, Phillips peerless. Atmosphere at a different level. We’ve got this promotion lark.
— Andrew Butterwick (@MOTForever) April 13, 2019
Kalvin Phillips - For me, his best performance in this role. Has not been able to be as effective as a 3rd CB as he is in the ‘Kalvin Role’ in front of the back four, but today he was excellent. Held his own in the air but what was really impressive was the way he managed to get his passing game going from a deeper area. He also was better at stepping forward from his CB role to create space and angles for Leeds to play out from the back more effectively. 8/10
#LUFC midfielder Kalvin Phillips picked up the @SkyFootball Man of the Match award after his performance against Sheff Wed #YorkshirePirlo pic.twitter.com/1yYquZ1VES
— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 13, 2019
Gaetano Berardi - Called on at late notice following Liam Cooper’s late withdrawal and produced a good performance. He wasn’t faultless and you could tell it had been a while since his last start but he never looked out of place. 7/10
To say he wasn't expecting to play I thought Berardi was magnificent. Never easy after a long spell out but you know you can trust him to put in a shift #lufc
— Craig Smith (@craggsy82) April 13, 2019
Luke Ayling - Captain for the day and his performance was more than worthy of the armband. Got up and down the right-hand side tirelessly and was good at both ends of the pitch. Had a couple of efforts on goal and was unlucky to have one cleared off the line. Was also excellent defensively and made a great tackle on Gary Hooper when he got in behind for one of Wednesday’s few good moments in attack. 8.5/10
Luke Ayling vs Sheff Wed:
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) April 13, 2019
98 touches (most)
84% pass acc.
69 passes (most)
6 ball recoveries
4 headers won
3 chances created
2 shots
2 tackles won
1 interception
1 last-ditch tackle
Captain today. Exceptional display. Nearly scored & made an incredible last-ditch tackle. pic.twitter.com/rwFFGNRN6j
Mateusz Klich - Movement was good and passed the ball around well without fully stamping his authority on the match. Had a bit of a tired spell midway through the second half so it was surprising to see him withdrawn. 7/10
Ezgjan Alioski - Boundless energy as usual. Seemed like he made more successful tackles than anyone else on the pitch and kept popping up in attacking areas without quite getting his end product right. Gave the ball away too much to get a really high mark but still a good performance. 7/10
Don't think Alioski took kindly to being kissed #lufc #ncfc pic.twitter.com/PPGHCPeRwm
— Adam Savoury (@Saves1990) April 13, 2019
Tyler Roberts - Looked really classy on the ball and was a constant threat. Made the most of the space when Bamford dropped off from the front and his movement both as the ‘number 10’ and as a centre forward caused Wednesday real problems. Had a lot of shots - going close with a right foot curling effort and Keiren Westwood denying his excellent header from an Alioski corner. 8/10
Tyler Roberts vs. Sheff Wed:
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) April 13, 2019
65 touches
30/44 passes
17/24 final third passes (most)
6 shots (most)
5 ball recoveries
3 shots on-target
2 chances created
3 times fouled
2 take-ons
1 tackle won
Outstanding performance. Excellent work rate & thriving in the number 10 role. pic.twitter.com/OKfoJfwdT0
Pablo Hernandez - Not the ridiculous levels he produced against Millwall but another good performance from the former Spain international. Played some sloppy passes but always looked a threat and was creative. Excellent pass to find Harrison for the winning goal. 7.5/10
Pablo Hernandez has now registered 28 assists in the @SkyBetChamp since his debut in August 2016, MORE than any other player in the division.
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) April 13, 2019
Assist King. #LUFC #MOT pic.twitter.com/AdytajP8El
Jack Harrison - Harrison in microcosm. Was fine in the first half, then in the second half he seemed not to be able to do anything right. Then found Bamford with a great knock down but he couldn’t turn it home. Then he popped up with a fantastic right foot finish into the bottom left hand corner to send Elland Road wild. 7/10
Así fue el gol de @Harrison_Jack11. Buena jugada combinativa y toque sutil para poner el 1️⃣-0️⃣. #LUFC #MOT pic.twitter.com/vbtQvstMyA
— Leeds United España (@LUFCesp) April 13, 2019
Patrick Bamford - Movement was fine, as was the hold up play. Had a couple of chances, the main one being the chance seconds before he was substituted from Harrison’s knock down. Would have liked to come out with a goal but his performance levels were fine. 6.5/10
CHANCE: Bamford...Ayling cross finds Harrison at the back post, he cuts it to Bamford who has the goal at his mercy but scuffs it past the near post. 0-0 on 64 mins. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) April 13, 2019
SUBSTITUTES
Kemar Roofe (for Bamford, 64mins) - Replaced Bamford and had a similar level of performance. His hold up play wasn’t as good but he finished the big chance he got, only to be denied by what looked like a correct offside flag. 6/10
is that my oxygen over there geez!?
— Kemar Roofe (@roofe) April 13, 2019
Wow....winning with that atmosphere is what we dream about! #LUFC #MOT @ Elland Road Football Stadium https://t.co/rofoJiKVrM
Adam Forshaw (for Klich, 76mins) - A very impressive cameo from Forshaw. His movement was really good and he was always providing an option. He seemed to never give the ball away and he produced a couple of really good defensive contributions. 7/10
Excellent performance & result. Only disappointment is that it wasn't a wider margin, and we could use the Goal Difference. Great finish from Harrison. Midfield impressive, Forshaw very good when introduced. May be the best we have played against a team with 2 up top. #lufc #MOT
— Mighty Whites Pod (@mightywhitespod) April 13, 2019
Stuart Dallas (for Harrison, 86mins) - Brought on to be a bit more of a defensive option in front of Alioski. Lost Liam Palmer for one Sheff Wed attack but was fine other than that. Not on long enough to give a score. N/A